Funcom
announces a large number of major changes currently in production for Age
of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, their recently launched MMORPG. The plan
includes new areas and dungeons, social updates, additional adventures, and
more. Here how the announcement kicks off, highlighting some of the major
changes:

Durham, USA – June 13, 2008 – After the incredible initial
success for Age of Conan, a whole world of MMO players are eagerly anticipating
the future plans for one of the most popular online games ever released. While
Age of Conan has already evolved massively since launch, numerous expansive
additions are yet to come. Funcom and Eidos are therefore proud to lift the veil
on Age of Conan’s promising future, and today the two companies reveal selected
features which are now in production.

“While we have enjoyed the initial success for Age of Conan, we know that a
solid launch is but the start when it comes to the MMO genre,” said Gaute
Godager, Game Director on Age of Conan. ”As we look ahead we are preparing a
huge amount of new content, and what we are presenting today will evolve Age of
Conan even further. It’s naturally an incredibly ambitious update plan for a
live MMO game, but we are certain our players would want nothing less.”

Without further ado, here are some of the cool things to expect in the months to
come:

PvP evolved – To the Death
The great combat system in Age of Conan has taken MMO fighting to a new level of
fun, and Player versus Player combat plays a major part in this. As a result, a
massive new PvP update is planned for late June. Aptly called To the death, this
update brings more consequence and rewards to PvP, and an important part of it
is the Fugitive system. The more lower level players you kill, the easier it is
for others to hunt you down. In addition, ten PvP levels with additional ranks
will be introduced, as well as specific gear and weapons for PvP.

Guild Alliance Warfare
Preproduction has started on a MASSIVE free update which will come later this
year. Currently titled “Kingship!”, large clusters of guilds will be able to
form alliances, and rule and conquer on a massive scale. Everyone in a guild
alliance will play a part in this system, and together they can even erect
unique looking alliance Battlekeeps. The alliances can also fight over, and
build, culture-specific “wonders of the world”, with a direct link to higher
powers! As part of the system Funcom will also facilitate larger amounts of
players in massive battles.

Powerpoints
This fall, a unique reward and character evolution system called Powerpoints
will be introduced. This rewards active in-game behavior, and allows for
gathering points through numerous methods, including owning a Battlekeep,
playing the end-game at level 80, winning PvP matches, or simply being an active
guild member or subscribing to the game. There will be many ways to obtain
Powerpoints, and numerous rewards, ranging from exclusive Powerfeats to weapons,
armor and potions. Powerpoints may even allow you to level faster!